Fences and various other types of physical barriers have long been employed to enclose a space so as to control access to and from that space. In the management of livestock, fencing systems of various types have long been employed to great success in retaining and controlling livestock movement within a paddock, field, or the like.
In order to control access to and from such a confined space, it is necessary to provide a gating system in the fence. Conventional farming gating systems employ sturdy timber posts spaced apart so as to receive a gate therebetween. The gate is typically constructed from timber or metal and is hung to one of the posts so as to be movable in a pivotal manner between an open and a closed position. A variety of mounting systems have been employed to provide such pivotal movement between the gate and the post.
Generally, gates have been mounted to a post by way of upper and lower mounting members. Upper and lower mounting members have taken a variety of forms, with earlier systems employing saddles or brackets to mount the gate to the post at an upper and lower end thereof. Such arrangements facilitate swinging or pivotal movement of the gate with respect to the post. One problem with such systems is that the bracket or saddle arrangement provides limited clearance between the gate and the post. Typically, in such systems, the gate is in direct contact with the post during the swinging motion, greatly restricting the amount of pivotal movement of the gate with respect to the post and limiting access through the gate.
In order to provide for a greater degree of pivotal movement of the gate, a variety of alternative mounting systems have been proposed. Such mounting systems generally project beyond the post such that there is greater clearance between the post and the gate. Typically, such mounting systems include an upper bracket or collar that extends about the gate to secure the upper region of the gate to the post, and a lower pintle that is typically received within an open end or gudgeon of the gate to support the gate thereon. The upper bracket and lower pintle support a side or edge of the gate enabling the gate to pivot or swing about the post. In some arrangements, the upper bracket and lower pintle are located a distance beyond the post, such that the gate does not come into contact with the post during swinging movement. This provides a greater degree of movement of the gate with respect to the post.
While such mounting systems have been successful in providing a greater degree of swinging movement of the gate with respect to the post, as they support the full weight of the gate, they have been shown to compromise the integrity of the gating system. Typically, the upper bracket or collar and the lower pintle are each mounted on an end of a single threaded shaft or rod that is received within a bore formed through the post, adjacent an upper and lower region of the post. The threaded shaft or rod is then secured to the post by way of nuts and washers fitted to the rod on either side of the post so as to be tightened about the post. One problem with such a system is that when the gate is in an open or partially open position, namely a position that is not parallel with the line of the fence, the weight of the gate acts directly on the rods in the form of a pulling force to the upper threaded rod and a pushing force to the lower threaded rod. This can cause the rods to bend over time, particularly as weight is applied to the gate in the open position. Further, these opposing forces acting through the post can create splitting of the post over time. Further, during general use of the gate, it is typical that the threaded rods become loose within the post, such that there is movement of the rods within the post. This movement can further contribute to splitting of the posts.
As the posts are generally subject to the elements, including extreme weather conditions, rain, moisture and the like can readily access the bore holes, as well as any splits created in the post by the rods. This may accelerate deterioration of the post, which can result in the gate dropping or dragging on the ground during use. Dropping or dragging gates on a fence can lead to the deterioration of the fence as well as make the gate difficult to open and close.
There is a need to provide a mounting system of mounting a gate to a post which is addressed at overcoming or at least substantially ameliorating one or more of the above-referenced problems.
The following references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the following prior art discussion does not relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the understanding of the inventive step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part.